Former Trump Staff Members: A New Job is Hard to Find

One would think that having worked for a president – any president – would make someone extremely employable – but this is apparently not so for former Trump staff members. Those who have left the Trump administration, as well as those who are looking to leave, are finding that no one wants to hire them. Many companies consider hiring a former Trump staff member to be too risky.

James Joyner, of Outside the Beltway.com, writes that one Washington consultant who recruits government officials for the private sector said, “There’s a legal risk there…a certain level of uncertainness around the toxicity. Generally, there aren’t a ton of jobs waiting for those people.”

“Legal risk” refers to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation, as well as the other legal troubles that engulf the current White House. Many firms see it as potentially hazardous to hire a former Trump staff member who worked in the White House during the time of these investigations; what if their new hire is implicated?

The toxic environment of the Trump White House is troubling to many firms, who see former Trump staff members as tainted by it. Did they contribute to the toxicity? Did they support it? Are they toxic themselves?

According to Joyner, a bipartisan public affairs firm in Washington has stated that it will not hire former Trump staff members because doing so could damage the firm’s reputation. Companies who have traditionally considered it a win to hire people associated with a presidential administration do not want to hire those associated with the current administration – one they see as that of “a president famously disloyal to his people.”

Due to the high turnover in the Trump administration, the penchant for Trump to fill posts on a whim, and the fact that many highly qualified people simply declined to be part of Trump’s administration, Trump has ultimately hired what many consider to be “second- and third-tier.” Consequently, former Trump staff members are not always viewed as high-caliber.

It’s often a little challenging for members of a former administration to find jobs when the opposite party gains control. Though it’s tempting to blame partisanship for the wary and unfriendly hiring conditions facing former Trump staff members, the firms and recruiters who say they won’t be hiring them are largely bipartisan. Even those firms who align more with the right are just too wary of the risks of hiring a former Trump staff member.